Third Time Lucky
by Blossom The Cat
Summary: Ariel is 16 and moves in with her mother and brother Malik after a life in care. This is her third home, third family and third school. Starting a new school in the middle of the year is hard enough, especially when the only person you know is your brother. Drama, heartbreak and new friends come onto the scene. After so much trouble, will it be third time lucky for Ariel?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Imagine this. You're two months old. Your parents are divorced and your father is a sadistic child abuser. You're taken into care. You spend ten years there, waiting for someone to foster you.

You go to your first foster home. The lady doesn't like you, but she feels it her duty to look after you. You get into a scuffle with one of the other girls. The lady ships you back to the Home. The other kids tease you because you were sent back. Six years later, you finally get a break.

Your mother has just won the right to keep you by the Court. You go to live with her and your brother, Malik. Time to start again. Third home, third family, third school. Is this the break you've been waiting for? Is the trouble and drama finally going to stop? All you can do is hope.

My name is Ariel. And this is my story.

~Author: This is a brief backstory about the main character, Ariel. I want to thank my friend Hannah for helping me with some names and for drawing out a couple of characters. Please read and review, and I hope you enjoy my second Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction!

P.S. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Bye for now! *smiles and waves*~


	2. First Day

**First Day**

(Ariel's P.O.V)

My brother woke me up in the morning. He came in and started hitting me with a pillow. In the face. A lot. I swatted him away and stretched, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

"Get lost Malik!"

I hauled myself out of bed and pushed my brother out the door, slamming it behind him. Today was my first day at my third school. I had to decide whether or not to accept my brother's offer to hang with him and his friends all day, or if I should make my own.

"Ariel, hurry up! You'll miss breakfast!"

"I'll be out in a minute!"

I grabbed my emerald green top and blue jeans and pulled them on, dashing downstairs and into the kitchen. Malik was sitting at the table and I sat down beside him.

"Ariel, at least brush your hair!"

Mum put a plate of pancakes down in front of me and tugged at my red hair, pulling through the knots. I yanked my head away from her fingers and smoothed down my hair. Malik grinned and I punched him lightly in the arm.

"Hey? What was that for?"

I smirked and wolfed down the rest of my pancakes before running upstairs to brush my hair, put on my sweater and grab my bag. Malik was already walking along, and I had to run to catch up with him.

"Wait for me! I am new to the area, you know!"

I folded my arms as I walked alongside him. Malik sighed and ruffled my hair. I huffed and smoothed it down _again. _

"I know, I know. You spent almost sixteen years in a Home before Mum won the right to keep you!"

I shuddered at the memories of my Home that I had spent most of my life in. It was horrible and everyone hated me. I was so relieved when Mum could bring me home on Christmas Eve and when I saw Malik. Mum had sent me photos of him and wrote to me, but it was nothing compared to meeting my actual family.

"Personally, I'm just glad that you're outta there!"

Malik was actually concerned for my wellbeing. This didn't shock me as much as it may shock other brothers and sisters. I sighed and nodded, and he grinned down at me (I am a couple of inches shorter thank Malik). He put an arm around my shoulders and my shoulder fitted snugly under his arm.

"You looking forward to meeting the guys?"

I groaned in response. Malik had a group of friends and he planned on introducing me to them this morning. I hoped to make some friends of my own, but I could live with some of his friends. He had warned me about Yami and Bakura. They were the 'troublemakers' of the group. Yugi and Ryou were sweet and shy, so I was looking forward to meeting them.

"We're here."

I looked up at the front doors and walked in with Malik. Kids were swarming everywhere, and I was slightly unnerved by the way that people were staring at us.

"Hey Malik! Who's your friend?"

I turned my head at the sound of somebody yelling. There were four boys standing in a huddle; one with blond, black and red hair, two with fluffy white hair, and the other one had black, blond, and pinky-purple hair. It was the one with red tips on his spiky hair that had yelled at Malik.

"Come on. These are the guys."

Malik led me over to the four boys, and there was a disturbing twinkle in the smaller white haired boy's eyes. I looked up at Malik uneasily and his grip on my shoulders tightened.

"The jeering idiot is Yami, the small one with white hair is Ryou, Yugi is the other small one and the only one left is Bakura."

He pointed to each boy as he named them, and Yami looked offended.

"Guys, this is my sister, Ariel."

I smiled shyly and scuffed my feet on the floor.

"H-hi."

Yugi looked surprised.

"We didn't know you had a sister Malik! What happened to her?"

I looked up at Malik with scared eyes and he seemed to understand. He let go of my shoulders and gave me a gentle push towards the Chemistry lab.

"Go on Ariel, you don't want to be late for your first class."

I nodded and scuttled away quickly, unsure of how Malik's friends would take to me. I sat down at an empty table, opening my favourite book and burying my head in it. When I was at the Home, I would read a book and then pretend that I was in the book, away from the jeering and teasing and hatred…

(Malik's P.O.V)

I sent Ariel off to her first class and turned to face the guys. I let my gaze rest on Yami for the longest, making him squirm.

"What?"

"You know what!"

"Geez, it was just a joke Malik! Lighten up!"

I growled at Yami and narrowed my eyes.

"Do you have any idea of what Ariel has been through?"

I hissed at Yami. He shook his head and lowered it.

"No? So don't tell me to lighten up!"

Bakura was staring at the classroom where Ariel had gone in, a weird look in his eyes. I waved a hand in front of his face. No response. I flicked his forehead and he snapped out of his daze.

"Huh?"

I looked at him in disgust and shook my head. Bakura shrugged and resumed looking at the slightly adjacent door. I hoped that Ariel would make some new friends and very, very few enemies…

~Author: Second chapter done. I have one brief question and please answer in a review. Should I make a series out of this? Or should I leave that to a poll? I hope you like my story and please read and review soon. Bye for now! *smiles and waves*~


	3. Hope, Summer and Bubblegum

**Hope, Summer and Bubblegum**

(Ariel's P.O.V)

My book was wrenched from my grasp as I as was reading it, and I looked up to see a girl with cropped pink (and I mean bubblegum pink) hair glaring down at me.

"Why were you with my future husband?"

She inquired, her voice dripping with venom. I was very confused. Future husband? The only male I was with today was Malik…

"Oh, you mean Malik?"

She glared down at me. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the teacher came into the room. She gave me a death glare and stalked off to her seat. I sighed and picked my book up from the floor, bending underneath my table.

"We have a new student in our class today!"

The teacher called to the class. I felt my face going red as he called me up to the front.

"This is Ariel. She will be joining our class."

He beckoned me forward and I stumbled to the blackboard. I waited until he let me go down. The two people who caught my eye were a long, chestnut haired girl with a white bandana and a blonde haired girl with a pink bow in her hair. They were chatting with the bubblegum haired b**ch from earlier.

"You may sit down now Ariel."

I scuttled back to my seat, aware that the Bandana and Pink Bow Girl were watching me curiously. It was not a fun class. The two girls and little Miss Bubblegum were staring at me, the Bandana Girl gasping occasionally.

"Hey, you!"

I was just leaving the classroom when Bubblegum Girl slammed into me. I felt the air whoosh from my lungs as she pinned me to the wall. Students flowed past, but nobody stopped to help me. Her hand closed around my throat and I struggled to get away.

"Malik is mine, so stay away from him!"

Her grip tightened, and you wouldn't believe how glad I was when I heard his voice.

"Hey! Leave Ariel alone!"

(Malik's P.O.V)

I saw Mia fighting with another girl. At first I didn't think much of it, but when Bakura pointed something out I was furious.

"Hey Malik, isn't that Mia and your sister?"

He pointed, and I realised that the red haired girl was Ariel. I growled and walked over to Mia, Bakura close behind.

"Hey! Leave Ariel alone!"

Mia turned her head and her eyes widened in shock. Ariel thrashed weakly, her eyelids drooping. Bakura hauled her away (seriously, what is wrong with that dude?) and I dashed over to Ariel.

"Ariel, are you ok?"

She nodded, gasping for breath. I put her arm around my shoulders and helped her walk to the next class. Bakura came up beside me.

"Here, we're in the same class next. I'll take her!"

I transferred her over to Bakura and he helped her through the doorway. I suddenly noticed something. This was not the usual Bakura. Was the white haired boy getting a crush on my sister?

(Ariel's P.O.V)

Bakura helped me in through the door and sat down next to me. His eyes were full of concern. I rubbed the red marks on my neck gingerly, wincing.

"Are you ok?"

Bakura sounded worried. I nodded, my voice raspy.

"Y-yeah. I t-think so…"

The Bandana Girl was in this class, and she gave an audible gasp when she saw me sitting with Bakura. I raised one eyebrow and turned to look at Bakura. I smiled and chewed the end of my pen.

"You know, Malik says that you and Yami are the troublemakers of the group!"

I smirked, pointing my pen at him.

"But you seem so sweet!"

I tilted my head and smiled. I swear that he blushed when I said that. The next teacher walked into the classroom and we all shut up. I groaned as we opened our textbooks. I really, _really _hate algebra!

***Several hours later***

I sat down with my lunch tray at an empty table. I was just about to bite into my apple when I saw Bandana Girl and Pink Bow Girl came over.

"Hey, aren't you the girl who's dating Malik?"

Bandana Girl's eyes widened and I coughed in surprise.

"NO! Malik's my brother!"

Pink Bow Girl squeaked and sat down in front of me.

"Wow! That's so cool! I'm Summer!"

She introduced herself. Bandana Girl sat down next to her. Her entire lunch was vegetarian.

"And my friend here is Hope. Forgive her if she seems a little off, she's a bit of a hippie!"

I realised that Hope was wearing several bracelets with the peace sign, and she had a small braid at the side of her head. She was wearing a short sleeved top with a flower and a fringed hem.

"Hey, I love your top!"

Hope looked down at her top and beamed.

"Thanks! My grandmother gave it to me. Straight from the 1960s!"

I exchanged a glance with Summer and she gave a tiny shake of her head.

"Well, if you're not dating Malik, then are you dating Bakura?"

I nearly choked on my apple.

"WHAT?!"

The whole lunch room turned to stare at me. Ryou and Yugi were sitting at their own table, and they gave me a funny look.

"What? Good grief NO!"

"No what?"

Malik came over with Bakura and sat down with us. I blushed scarlet and shot a death glare at Hope and Summer.

"Uh...Hope was thinking about dying her hair blue!"

I lied quickly. Hope squeaked and clutched her chestnut brown hair tightly. I gave her an apologetic smile and willed Summer to play along.

"Yeah, I really don't think that you dye it. It looks so beautiful now!"

Hope growled, but she couldn't argue when Malik joined in. I got the feeling that she and Summer had a bit of a crush on Malik.

"Mmm. Punk wouldn't really suit you!"

Her eyes widened and she looked at the four of us helplessly. Bakura said nothing, but I could feel his gaze on me. Hope looked at the clock and jumped up.

"Come on! Let's get going!"

I frowned as the others got up, Malik dragging me along.

"But I never got to eat my apple…"

~Author: Thank you to my first reviewer Tiryn, but I think I will make it into a series anyway. Hello to my friend Dragonerin and please read my stories! The first two stories will focus on Hope and then Summer before they meet Ariel. Please keep reading and review, and I will try to update every Wednesday now…~


	4. Snow Day!

**Snow Day!**

(Ariel's P.O.V)

I was happily dreaming, when I was rudely awoken by something shaking my arm.

"Ariel! Wake up!"

I shook the arm off and snuggled deeper into my bed, curling up into a tight ball.

"Wake up or I will jump on you!"

"I'm up!"

I threw my legs out of bed and yawned, stretching. Malik was waiting for me, smirking over by the window. I got up and walked over to him, grumbling.

"What?"

He smiled and pulled back my curtain, letting grey light spill into my room. I gasped when I saw what he was so excited about. The whole garden was covered in a thick blanket of snow!

"Snow day!"

I cheered, dashing over to my wardrobe and grabbing a pair of jeans, my long sleeved green top, my furry boots and a sweater. I shoved Malik out the door before getting changed, running downstairs and sitting down next to him.

"Hey, can the guys come over today?"

Malik asked, his mouth full of toast. I looked at him in disgust and took a bite of my own toast, looking up at mum. She sighed, but relented, as they only lived a couple of minutes away.

"Awesome!"

I smiled, shaking my head at how excited he seemed. Hope and Summer lived several miles away, and there was no chance of them being able to come over, so I didn't bother to ask.

"Come on out! The guys will be here soon!"

Malik called from outside, already in his coat. I grabbed my fluffy earmuffs, ski gloves and winter coat before running out to join him. I squealed and ducked as he chucked a snowball at me, missing me by a foot.

"Nice shot!"

I jeered, making my own snowball and hurling it at him. It caught him square in the stomach and I punched the air in triumph.

"SNOWBALL WAR!"

I turned my head to receive a snowball to the face. I wiped it off and glared at whoever threw it. Surprise surprise, Yami was the only one NOT laughing at what happened. I smirked and made another snowball, throwing it at him, hitting his head.

"If you say so! But you have to catch me!"

I laughed, leaping off to the right and taking off, hiding behind Malik for protection. I made a snowball and threw it, hitting Yugi by accident.

"Sorry Yugi!"

I called, ducking as another snowball made its way towards me, narrowly missing my head. That one was thrown by Ryou, who attempted to hide behind Bakura.

"It's ok!"

Yugi yelled back, getting caught full-on by a snowball from Yami. I sighed and grabbed Malik's wrist, dragging him around the corner.

"Right, you distract them, and I'll hurl snowballs, ok?"

I said, going over a few tactics to end the war. Malik grinned, and helped me make about forty snowballs. I nodded to him and he jumped out from the corner, running in front of the others. They took the bait and threw snowballs at him, and I smirked, gathering my stash and bringing them right over to the corner.

"Sayonara!"

I screeched, throwing snowballs at all of them, causing them to duck and cover their faces with their arms. When I ran out of snowballs, I ran straight towards them, pushing the hunched over boys to the ground. Bakura caught my wrist and I twisted his arm. He fell, pulling me to the ground with him. I attempted to wrestle my arm from his death grip, and we both ended up rolling around in the snow.

"Ha!"

I freed my arm and jumped up, cheering and leaping about.

"Malik and I won! Malik and I won!"

Mum opened the front door and smiled at the scene; Bakura lying in the snow, Yugi, Yami and Ryou picking themselves up, Malik laughing and clutching his sides and me jumping around cheering.

"Come on in for some hot chocolate!"

She called. I squeaked and hurtled towards the door, pushing Ryou to the ground once more as he got in my way. I peeled off my coat, took off my gloves and ear muffs before plonking down at the kitchen table.

"Does mine have marshmallows?"

Mum chuckled, handing me a mug with marshmallows bobbing at the surface of the frothy liquid. I put the cup to my lips and took a sip, savouring the chocolaty flavour.

"Yummy!"

Malik took several gulps of his, and I smiled and shook my head. I loved spending time with my family, especially when we did something new.

"What'll we do now?"

Yugi asked, licking his lips. Bakura shrugged, draining his own cup. Malik grinned evilly and I got up, taking my cup with me.

"Where are you going?"

Malik called after me. I didn't bother to turn around as I opened the door.

"Away from you."

I heard an explosion of laughter come from the kitchen as I made my way upstairs and into my room. When Malik got that scary grin, it's best to get the hell outta there!

"You ok?"

Yugi poked his head around the door. I was seated at my desk, tapping away on my computer. I nodded and went back to typing, jumping out of my skin when I heard him ask:

"What's that?"

I put a hand to my heart and took a deep breath, turning around to face him, only to smack into him. I rubbed my forehead and he did the same.

"Sorry! It's my story."

"What's it about?"

I blushed lightly and scuffed my feet on the floor, smiling shyly. I didn't like showing people my work, and the only person I ever shows it to was Malik, but that was because after about a week he broke in when I was sleeping and read it anyway.

"Stuff."

He rolled his eyes at my _specific _answer. I giggled, taking another drink from my cup of hot chocolate, putting it down beside my laptop.

"Hey Ariel, we're playing Truth or Dare if you want to join us."

Yami notified me, walking into my room. My eyes widened and I shook my head vigorously.

"Not a chance!"

He shrugged and went out, Yugi following him. I sighed and went back to typing my story, getting lost completely in the characters, failing to notice Bakura standing in the doorway…

~Author: And another chapter done! Sorry about the two week wait but I had a major writers block and couldn't write any stories! I know this is a bit of a crappy chapter, but please keep reading and review! Oh, and I always thank my reviewers! Ta-ta for now!~


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